And Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Marines have set aside about 500M yen in funds in case they can nab a high profile player away from the Tigers. Whether or not the Marines are calling the Tigers' bluff won't really be known until they make their decision, but by informing the press that they won't hesitate in picking a player with a large contract, they're forcing the Tigers to pick between their high profile veterans and their young upcoming stars. And according to some reports, Tigers had to leave around 4 players they really liked off their protected player list.